Information about Dr. Elaine Ingham's Soil Food web School

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The Soil Foodweb School offers On-line training, called the Foundation Courses (FC). In these lectures, typically about 45 minutes each, give the students the basis of how the soil food web works to benefit plants. The five most important benefits are emphasized in these lectures:

1. Nutrient Cycling

2. Nutrient Retention,

3. Disease prevention by making certain the indigenous organisms which compete with, inhibit and consume the disease-causing organisms. pests and parasites are present,

4. Bioremediation and

5. Building Soil Structure

. By returning those organisms killed by excessive tillage, application of outrageous amounts of inorganic fertilizers and use of pesticides, the beneficial organisms we add to the dirt will build structure and thus conquer compaction, they build airways and passageways to allow oxygen, water and roots to move deep into the soil. Many other benefits are also explained in the on-line courses.

The titles of each FC tell you what topics are covered in each. FC #1 covers the background about what soil organisms do; FC #2 explains how people can "grow their own" indigenous beneficial organisms..... i.e., by making compost which selects for the beneficials, not the disease, pests and problem organisms. FC #3 explains how to apply these organisms in simple, inexpensive ways. FC #4 teaches students how to monitor their soil life in a simple, reasonably inexpensive way.

We then have a practical training program where the information given in the FCs are practically applied. Each trainee is given a mentor who I have trained. The trainee is provided mentoring time where the mentor makes sure all the trainee's questions are answered, and who monitors what the trainee is doing such that they rapidly achieve the goal of making compost, compost extracts and teas in order to fully recover the soil, and to be able to grow plants without pesticides or inorganic fertilizers. Some people manage to listen to the directions given in the FCs, and successfully convert their dirt back into soil without much help. We do have Q&A sessions one a month, and forums where people can ask their questions if they are signed up for the FC or Practical Training course (CTP). We have people who are successful in converting their dirt into soil, and gaining the benefits we talk about, so there is usually a local person available as well to help newcomers.